


Free

by dokyun (kissthesea)



Category: History (Band)
Genre: Lifeguards, M/M, Mouth-to-Mouth, Swimming Pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 01:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4080601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kissthesea/pseuds/dokyun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dokyun is a bored lifeguard and Sihyung can't swim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 of my June 30 Day Fic Challenge.

Sunlight glittered on the water as a group of kids splashed and screamed in mock attempts at drowning each other. Dokyun thought about stopping them, but it was too hot to make much of an effort to do anything. Somewhere behind the lifeguard stand, Kyungil was lounging in a pool chair and stretching at perfect angles to showcase his muscles. Every time he found a particularly effective pause, Dokyun heard the collective gasp of admiration from the group of girls nearby. It didn't matter what day of the week it was or what time; it wasn't even always the same girls, but where there was Song Kyungil, there was a flock of female admirers following behind.

Kyungil was a terrible lifeguard, but Dokyun couldn't say he was much better. A terrified screech reached his ears and he could barely muster the energy to crane his neck to see what was going on.

"Yijung," he more groaned than shouted when he discovered the source of the sound, "don't get into fights with people stronger than you."

"He cheated!" Yijung shrieked and pointed at another boy, probably ten years old, who grinned. He flapped his arms, complete with adult-sized floaties, in obvious consternation. 

Dokyun was considering leaving his post to throttle his friend, but thankfully Jaeho was nearby to drag Yijung out of the shallow end. "C'mon, man, I'll buy you an ice cream." Dokyun closed his eyes and listened as the pair walked away, Yijung grumbling something about _they better have cookies 'n cream_. Dokyun sighed; summer was supposed to be fun and exciting. A job at the pool had seemed like the perfect excuse to swim every day and also get paid, but so far the only times he got to hit the water during the day was to drag overly ambitious children, including his twenty-something friend Yijung on multiple occasions, from the deep end with grim warnings. His favorite part of the job was that he got his own key to the pool, which meant he could come early or stay as late as he wanted to make up for his rather shitty days.

A warmly tanned hand appeared on the side of Dokyun's seat and Kyungil looked up through large black sunglasses. "I'm taking lunch," he said with a yawn, not waiting for a reply before he stalked off towards the food stands.

There was no point in reminding Kyungil this was his third lunch break today. Dokyun settled deeper into his chair and resolved to work on his tan. He and Kyungil had a bet on who would get the darkest by the end of the summer. So far, Kyungil was winning.

A flip-flopping sound awoke Dokyun some time later, and as he glanced around he found the girls sitting nearby-- Dokyun was not without his own handful of admirers, after all-- staring across the pool at what appeared to be a shorts-clad scarecrow making its way towards the deep end. Dokyun squinted and the figure came into somewhat better focus: a man, all long, bony limbs and immaculate white skin, stepped awkwardly around pool toys and abandoned bottles of sunscreen in huge, plastic flippers. The smear of white sunscreen across his nose was barely visible on his skin, which Dokyun genuinely feared for because it didn't look like the guy had ever seen the light of day. But he moved with an awkward, steady determination, his dark brows knit together in concentration as he avoided children and other pool-goers.

By the time he reached the far corner of the deep end, most of the onlookers had moved on, but Dokyun continued to watch. There was something about the way the guy slid a pair of large goggles over his eyes and heaved a grave sigh that made Dokyun think he might want to keep an eye on him. Impossibly long white arms spread in what Dokyun assumed would be a swan dive, except that the move was cut short as the guy hurtled into the water just a moment too early. He hit the water with an ungraceful splash as flippers flailed against the still water. Dokyun couldn't stifle his snort, and he leaned back in his chair, the show over.

Except that a few seconds later, just as Dokyun was about to close his eyes and doze for a while, a child's voice cut through the noise of the pool: "Uh, I think that man's drowning."

Dokyun heaved himself out of his chair and spotted a large circle of children floating in the deep end around where the diving man had jumped in. At the very center, the man continued to kick, but it was obvious he hadn't been able to resurface. Blowing his whistle for everyone to clear the pool, Dokyun dove into the water in a perfect arc he was sure would have made even Kyungil jealous-- perfect tan or not, Dokyun was the better swimmer of the two. Bodies cleared out of the way as he tore through the water to the increasingly still figure. He grabbed the guy under his armpits and dragged him to the surface. The guy was surprisingly light, and Dokyun heaved him over the wall easily.

"Oh my god! Is he gonna die?" Dokyun glanced up and found both Jaeho and Yijung watching. A strawberry ice cream cone was dripping over Yijung's fingers as he watched in horror.

Grunting, Dokyun maneuvered the swimmer onto his back and tilted his head until his mouth fell open. His bony chest wasn't rising and falling in regular breaths, so Dokyun leaned closer to put his ear over the guy's mouth. Nothing. Just as he was bracing himself for his first public mouth-to-mouth administration, the swimmer's entire body seized and water gushed from his mouth. Dokyun breathed a sigh of relief and helped the guy sit up, giving him a few hard whacks to his back to help him clear out the water.

"That was anticlimactic," Kyungil muttered from somewhere above them. As the stranger gradually caught his breath, the crowd dispersed. Dokyun realized the guy's goggles had been lost in the confusion.

Dokyun helped him to his feet and resumed his usual casual lifeguard helpfulness. "C'mon, I'll take you to the locker room and get you some water." Leading him by the elbow, Dokyun guided the dazed guy around the edge of the pool.

"I thought the flippers were the key."

Dokyun jumped; the guy's voice was incredibly deep, not at all matching his bony frame. He had the exact same frown on his face he'd had when he'd stepped up to the pool, like he was trying to decipher a complex language or mathematical equation. "If you don't know how to swim, you shouldn't go in the deep end," Dokyun scolded because he couldn't think of how he should respond. "Flippers don't make a difference."

The guy hummed as if he were considering the idea. They stepped into the locker room, which at this time of the day was empty. He settled the guy onto a bench and went to his own locker where he usually kept a few bottles of water. When he returned, the guy was staring dejectedly at his flippers. "Look, what's your name?" he asked, hoping he sounded friendly.

"Sihyung," he responded with a grateful nod. He opened the bottle and sipped at it. 

"We offer swimming lessons here, if you want," Dokyun offered. There was something terribly pathetic about the way Sihyung slumped over himself, his limbs so pale and gangly. He noticed that the smear of sunscreen hadn't kept Sihyung's nose and cheeks from burning bright red. He wandered back to his locker and continued talking, if only to fill the awkward silence: "Kyungil teaches the kids during the morning hours, but I get that learning with kids might not be want you want. I taught my friend Yijung a few weeks ago early in the morning. He still can't swim, but I swear that's more on him, not my lessons."

He chuckled quietly at himself and settled down on the bench beside Sihyung. He highly doubted Sihyung would want lessons, not after today's complete humiliation, but it was his nature to be overly helpful. He carefully opened the jar of aloe he'd retrieved from his locker and started dabbing some on Sihyung's face as he joked about how Yijung had sat on the steps at the end of the shallow end for half an hour before he'd trusted Dokyun enough to dare to step off. It wasn't until Dokyun noticed Sihyung's large dark eyes watching him that he realized he was reaching a whole new level of overly helpful. 

"Sorry," he mumbled and closed the jar before handing it to Sihyung. "That should help your sunburns, though." He ran a hand through his chlorine-stiff hair. 

Sihyung stared at the jar in his hand a painfully long moment before replying: "Will you teach me? In the morning?" He pronounced the words slowly, each syllable almost a croak in that deep voice of his. He glanced up and, for the first time, met Dokyun's eyes in a shy but bright smile. Dokyun felt his cheeks and ears grow warm, and he stumbled over his tongue as he tried to find an acceptable way to reply.

He settled for: "Uh, yeah, tomorrow at eight, okay? Don't be late." With that, he mumbled something about having to go back to his chair, nearly tripping over a towel left on the floor. As he fled the locker room, he swore he heard the faint rumble of Sihyung's laugh.


End file.
